


A Start of Something Beautiful

by Beltenebra



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Introspective Eiji, Love Confessions, M/M, Partnership, The Golden Pair, preoccupation with Oishi's hands, unmitigated sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 15:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8215216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beltenebra/pseuds/Beltenebra
Summary: Eiji spends a lot of time thinking about how his feelings about Oishi have changed over the years. Lucky for him, the Golden Pair is in sync.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nobetterpicture](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterpicture/gifts).



> This was written for my lovely new friend [nobetterpciture](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterpicture/gifts)! I've been a TeniPuri fan, and particularly a Golden Pair fan, for about a million years but I'd never tried writing them before. Here's hoping there is a lot of GP fic to come. 
> 
> I listened to a lot of Matt Nathanson while writing this. The title is borrowed from 'All We Are'.

Eiji couldn’t pinpoint exactly when touching Oishi became an indispensable part of his everyday life but he could absolutely tell you when it started to feel like torture. 

He had always been an affectionate person by nature, his friends and teammates put up with random hugs, hair ruffling, and hand holding to varying degrees from Ryoma who begrudgingly endured it to Fuji’s amusement to Momo who actually seemed to enjoy it. When they first became friends he knew Oishi had been taken aback by him in general but over those first few months of being partners they adapted to each other’s mannerisms quickly. Partnership slid easily into friendship and they never looked back. 

Having Oishi in his personal space was as natural as breathing and if he tended to touch Oishi more than anyone else it was just that they spent so much time together. 

By their second year of high school Eiji had dated a bit. Their school didn’t actively encourage dating but it didn’t have any rules prohibiting it like some schools. He was social by nature and girls were a fairly receptive audience for his jokes but balancing schoolwork and tennis didn’t leave him time for anything more than casual dating. Sometimes Momo would whine about never having enough time to have a real girlfriend but it never bothered Eiji. 

He and Oishi talked about it sometimes, idly imagining what kind of girl they might date - teasing each other about their possible preferences. 

_”You should definitely be dating a gymnast, Eiji. She could help you with your handsprings.”_

_“There is nothing wrong with my handsprings, thank you!”_

_“I see. Too on the nose, huh?”_

_“How about you? Does the student council vice president have a boyfriend? She’s so responsible!”_

The conversation had unraveled into a good natured wrestling match that quickly descended into laughter because Oishi knew all of his ticklish spots and was a dirty cheater. 

The truth was that neither of them really seemed motivated enough to make time for dating. Sure sometimes he thought that it would be nice to have someone to hold hands with and snuggle up on the couch with. Or other things. At some point in their first year of high school he and Fuji had been talking about this super dramatic manga they were reading. One of his sisters had left it lying around when he had been stuck at home for the day with a nasty cold. He initially turned to the pink and flower splashed volumes to stave off boredom (and, he suspected, in a fit of cold-medicine induced delirium) and now he was invested. 

Fuji has no shame and was always up for some good melodrama so Eiji had immediately gotten him into it so they could chat about it during lunch. 

They were listing all of the traditional dates required in any romance series. 

_”There’s the amusement park.”_

_“Where they inevitably get stuck together at the top of the ferris wheel.”_

_“Oh! Unless the girl’s rival schemes her way into riding the ferris wheel with the hero instead. There’s usually scheming involved.”_

_“When it’s summer you have to have the summer festival date and everyone wears yukata.”_

_“Clearly a ploy for the artist to spend a few chapters drawing yukata.”_

_“But everyone loves yukata, Fuji! They are cute and comfortable.”_

The list had gone on: aquarium date, shopping date, haunted house date… Eiji remembered sighing - caught in a rare moment of wistfulness. 

_"Dating in a manga would be stressful but the actual dates all sound so nice.”_

_“Lucky you already get to do all of those things with Oishi then.”_

Fuji had his sly grin on, all twinkling eyes and feigned innocence. And as usual, his timing was perfect. Any response Eiji would have made was interrupted by the bell for class. 

It’s true that Eiji and Oishi spent most of their non-school and tennis related free time together. And he couldn’t exactly claim that they hadn’t done a lot of things that could normally be considered dates. But they were best friends. 

And if he knew Oishi’s favorite kind of milk tea, the one stocked in the ancient vending machine near his house and always bought him a can to share before morning practice, if he could tell how stressed Oishi was by how often he clicked his pen, if he always left the lights on if they were eating while watching movies because Oishi liked to see what he was eating - well, those were the kinds of things partners knew about each other. He had lots of friends, but he only had one partner. 

Of course he noticed physical things about Oishi as well. He knew every flavor of Oishi’s smile from confident to sentimental to teasing. He noticed that Oishi of all the club members had the least defined uniform tan lines in the summer because he spent so much time at the community pool. And that when he got sun a few tiny freckles scattered themselves over his shoulders. He would have had to be blind to miss the way years of conditioning and regular tennis practice had filled out Oishi’s shoulders, legs, and arms - his body growing into the promise of his lanky junior high frame. Eiji knew he had put on muscle too, gotten more toned. He wondered if Oishi had noticed. 

Somewhere in the middle of their first year of high school he began to suspect that while skinship, the casual touching between high school boys, was common most of those boys probably didn’t find themselves lying in the dark completely awake because they were unable to stop thinking about the way the muscles in their friend’s back felt under their hands. Or how soft their friend’s lips looked. Or how good it felt to twine their hands around their friend’s long, capable fingers. 

Eiji knew that it was not the end of the world to be attracted to men as well as women. It wasn’t the men thing that made his chest feel tight with panic, that heated his cheeks up when an image flashed too vividly in his mind - he could appreciate that some men looked good in general. But for him it was pretty much just Oishi. 

He had started admitting it to himself a few months ago. It was one thing to have those kinds of dreams about someone - no one can control their subconscious, after all. But when thoughts about what it would feel like to be pressed up between Oishi and the clubroom wall, or straddle his thighs, or taste the smooth line of his neck started drifting into his waking daydreams as well… Well, it would take more skill in self-delusion than Eiji had to claim ignorance. 

He clearly recalled the first time it really hit him. They were just walking home from practice on an ordinary Thursday - they always took the train together, going their separate ways at the station. They were going over their study schedule. Oishi usually helped Eiji with the more difficult math and science while Eiji made sure Oishi was on top of his Japanese history. He had just reminded Oishi that they had a quiz on the early Sengoku period next week when Oishi threw an arm around his shoulders in a spontaneous hug, laughing that it was great how even their academics were compatible. 

It was that moment when you’re falling asleep and the world is quiet and you suddenly notice the slow rhythmic sound of your own pulse in your ears and suddenly that’s all you can hear and you can’t _un-notice_ it and you lie there in the dark incredibly aware of everything around you. 

Eiji turned his head just enough to see Oishi’s mouth right there and he knew he would never not want to kiss him. 

Somehow he managed to play it cool. He couldn’t exactly distance himself from Oishi without bringing up a lot of questions he didn’t want to answer. And he didn’t _really_ want more space between them. He knew it was probably against the best friend code but he couldn’t help it - all of those bright sparks of happiness wound through with tendrils of guilt, sitting hot and uncomfortable right under his heart. He buried the disappointment deep and kept the big smile everyone expected. Sure it hurt sometimes, but he wasn’t exactly suffering. After all, he still got to be close to Oishi, he still got to play with him. And their tennis was as good as ever.

They didn’t have school or practice on Sundays so they could stay up a bit on Saturdays. They had standing plans for Saturday nights unless they were going out with friends or had family obligations. But most Saturdays it was the two of them watching movies or playing video games or catching up on tv from the week, Eiji especially liked Music Station so he always recorded it. 

Oishi’s family was out for the evening so they didn’t even have to fight with Oishi’s sister about what to watch. Though most of the time Oishi just gave in so she and Eiji played rock paper scissors for choosing rights. They were in the middle of marathoning the Rurouni Kenshin live action movies and Eiji was enjoying his state of pizza induced sleepiness. He had been leaning more and more towards the middle throughout the second movie and by the beginning of the third Oishi had just rolled his eyes at him with a chuckle and invited him to sprawl out like he wanted to. Oishi had tucked himself into the corner of the couch with Eiji’s head pillowed on his thigh. 

At some point in the last twenty minutes Oishi’s fingers had found their way into Eiji’s hair, carding slowly through the red strands over and over. He knew he should say something, Oishi was essentially petting him and wasn’t that too intimate for friends? But he was so comfortable, warm and relaxed, and even the ever present ache of being so close, not quite close enough to Oishi could marr his mood. 

He must have dozed off at some point because a bolt of sensation cut through the drowsy fog and suddenly he was wide awake. Had he dreamed the thrill of Oishi’s strong fingers trailing gently down his neck? Every single nerve ending in his body seemed to be on high alert. If he had imagined it, he had a way more active imagination than he thought was possible. He jerked himself upright, trying to put some space between them before Oishi noticed how very inappropriately attracted Eiji was to him. 

Oishi had definitely clued in on his distress, pulling his hand back quickly. “Eiji, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

He tried to take a deep breath without being too obvious about it and summoned a smile. “Nah, you’re fine. I’m sorry I fell asleep all over you! Embarrassing.” 

His partner paused the movie. Eiji tried to focus on the frozen form of Soujiro, caught mid-leap, and not Oishi’s concerned eyes. He tried to move a little farther toward the middle of the couch without Oishi noticing. 

“Are you ok? Did you have a bad dream or something?” Oishi’s voice was nothing but his normal thoughtful concern. Eiji tried to relax into the sound of it like he usually could. 

“Nope, I’m ok. Business as usual in Kikumaru land.” If only Oishi knew how accurate that was recently. 

Oishi didn’t look convinced. “You seem tense all of a sudden. I really don’t mind if you lean on me. You know that, right? I mean, you’re heavier than you used to be but it’s fine.” Oishi was trying to lighten the mood. Eiji knew he should take the opening he was given, grin and tease back. Maybe poke Oishi in the side and make a crack about how soft he was - just like a pillow. 

But for some reason the humor wouldn’t come, he tried for a smile but he could tell it was halfhearted at best. At least his voice was steady. 

“It’s not a partner thing, It’s not your problem, just mine. So, please don’t worry about it.” 

He should have known Oishi wouldn’t just drop it. One of the things he loved most about his very conscientious partner was going to be the death of him tonight. “Eiji, don’t be ridiculous. We’re best friends, if you have a problem of course it affects me. Is it something I can help with?” 

Eiji just looked at him helplessly. _Yes. You could lean over and kiss me. You could want me like I want you and everything would be perfect forever._

“I don’t think so, Oishi.” He was terrified that things would change - that Oishi would pull away from him. He just wanted them to move on and let things get back to normal. He hoped his expression conveyed his feelings because he didn’t trust himself to put it into words. 

Suddenly Oishi wouldn’t meet his eyes, gazing past him into the darkness of the kitchen for a moment before looking down at his feet. “Eiji, I have to apologize. I know I’ve been a little weird lately. 

_He knows he knows he knows_

Oishi sighed and he sounded so tired. Eiji wanted to put a comforting arm around his shoulder but it seemed like they were in uncharted territory. For the first time in their friendship Eiji wasn’t sure what he was allowed to do. 

Oishi was still looking down, his graceful hands twined anxiously in his lap. “I know I shouldn’t… touch you so much. Like, just now, with your hair. It’s probably weird,right?” 

He made a soft noise of protest. He wanted to say more but it would be pretty hard to elaborate without revealing too much. _I love it when you run your hands through my hair, it relaxes and electrifies me and makes me feel so good. Like anywhere else you touch me. You can touch me absolutely anywhere you want._ Yeah, that would definitely be more than Oishi needed to know. 

He couldn’t just leave him hanging like that, he laid a hand on his shoulder, just letting Oishi know he was there for him. They’d done that millions of times.

Oishi turned towards him, taking a deep shuddering breath and despite the chill of terror Eiji felt deep in his gut he wanted Oishi to say what he needed to say so they could get past it, so Oishi could start feeling better. “Eiji, I know this is going to change everything. I’m sorry but I hope we can still be partners - still be friends.” 

Eiji’s breath caught in his throat but Oishi didn’t make him wait long - his words tumbling headlong before Eiji could even think about how to respond. 

“I like you. A lot. As more than friends or partners or… anything.” 

Eiji knew his eyes must be wide with shock, he could feel the sudden heat flare up in his cheeks matching the flush on Oishi’s. He didn’t give Oishi any time to misinterpret - bridging the short distance between them in a single movement and a grateful exhalation ‘Oh, thank god.’ before pressing their lips together. 

Oishi made a tiny broken noise that squeezed Eiji’s heart painfully before following Eiji right into the kiss like the amazing partner he was - always there to catch him when he jumped. The initial awkwardness melted away after a moment and it was so good. Oishi’s mouth felt electric against his as one kiss broke and melted into the next one, as they both adjusted minutely to fit better together. 

Eiji was sure nothing could ever feel as good as finally kissing his partner and then Oishi slid those strong hands up his arms to frame his face, thumbs brushing softly over his cheekbones, fingers tangling in the curls at the base of his neck. He tentatively laid his hands on Oishi’s shoulders, trailing one down to curl around the firm muscles of Oishi’s arm. Oishi groaned softly, a noise that ought to be criminal, and pressed closer and Eiji was awash in relief that they were in this together. Apparently Oishi had been just as lost as he was. 

When they gently pulled apart to catch their breath, Eiji tipped forward to rest his forehead against Oishi’s. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face, Oishi wasn’t any better. They collapsed together in a loose tangle of limbs that was not entirely unlike their normal after practice routine but this was so much better. 

Eiji could feel his delight fizzing under his skin - a bottle of cherry soda someone had shaken up. He felt so full. Eiji was the first to break the comfortable silence. They immediately fell into the kind of conversation that drove their friends crazy. 

“So... you?” _You feel the same way?_

“Yeah, you too?” _I’m so glad, I thought it was only me._

“Mmmhmm. For a while.” _You are worth the wait._

“Same.” _I would have waited forever for you._

“I’m glad you said something.” 

“Thank goodness for Kenshin.” 

Eiji couldn’t hold back his laughter. It wasn’t _that_ funny but he was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Oishi laughed right along with him and they curled into each other, hysterical. They would have a longer conversation about this later but for now they both seemed content to revel in the fact that they could be as close as they wanted to be. 

He threaded their fingers together, bringing their joined hands up so he could brush his lips over Oishi’s knuckles. “You have the most amazing hands.” He knew he was blushing but it didn’t matter when he could see Oishi’s eyes shine like that. 

“Your mouth drives me crazy.” 

Eiji could feel his smile go wicked. “Oh yeah?” He closed the short distance between them so he could show Oishi just a few of the things he could do with that mouth. 

Oishi’s chuckle was low and warm and sent a pleasant shiver down Eiji’s spine. 

They never did get back to the movie.


End file.
